Four very early hand-coloured engravings of birds are included in Lot 1429 which is up for bids at a sake to be conducted by Ewbanks of Woking in Surrey on September 24. the birds are not identified but the French artist is Francoise Nicholas Martinet (1725-1804). The pre-sale estimate for the lot is modest - jut £60 to £100.
THERE is cautious optimism for the future of the Rye Meads wetland reserve in Hertfordshire following a statement issued by Thames Water and published by The Hoddesdon Society.
There had been a question mark over the site - and public access to it - since the RSPB announced its intention to pull out come November because of cash constraints.
Amy Pigot, who has been at the forefront of a campaign to save the reserve says: "This statement is very welcome and marks an important step forward."
However she is not resting on her laurels, noting there is still a lot of detail to work through around the transition, future management, volunteers, facilities and community involvement.
The two volumes of one of the oldest titles on British ornithology have sold for a total price of £1,700 at an auction held by antiquarian books specialists Dominic Winter at their saleroom in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The hammer price of James Bolton's Harmonia Ruralis, published in 1824, exceeded the pre-sale estimate of £1,000-£1,500.
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| The Egyptian Nighjar is a fairly common native of North Africa and Arabia |
IMAGINE the pleasure for a birder of looking out of one of the windows of your house and seeing . . an Egyptian Nightjar!
So it was for former British Birds editor Roger Riddington, a long-time resident at Pool of Virkie in Shetland.
It was the first sighting in Scotland of this strange-looking bird and only the third British record - the others being on June 23, 1883, at Rainworth in Nottinghamshire and at Portland Bill on June 10,1984.
Many birders have made the trip by ferry from Aberdeen to the Shetlands capital, Lerwick, but, as of early morning today, the bird has not reappeared.
* Photo: Morhaf Kamal Alianee/ Wikimedia Commons
A publication month of February next year has been set for the latest book by one of Britain's most eminent ornithologists, Prof Ian Newton. The recommended retail price is likely to be £65, but it is understood there will be a significant discount for those who pre-order with publishers T & AD Poyser.
The songbird-rich Garrett Wood at Gosfield in Essex has come on the market at a price of £47,000. It is mostly made up of oak, beech and birch which provide a home to warblers, woodpeckers, owls and more. The size is 2.67 acres. Details are available from woods4sale.co.uk
It's been a good week for Whinchats on the Spurn peninsula in Yorkshire with as many as 18 sighted last Sunday. However, this juvenile was sighted this morning on the other side of the Humber Estuary on Cleethorpes saltmarsh (with three Wheatears nearby).
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| The orioles - sadly the beaks aren't quite right |
It does not take too much scrutiny to discover imperfect repairs to the bills of both birds plus, less obviously, damage to either wings or tails on at least one of the birds.
But they are creations with pedigree so Yorkshire auction house Tennants of Leyburn expect the orioles, which are being sold as a single lot, to achieve between £200 and £400.
The sale is being held at Leyburn on Saturday September 12.
How the same species is depicted in John Gould's The Birds of Great Britain (1873)
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| The Chough as depicted in John Gould's The Birds of Great Britain (published in 1873) |
IT has been a bumper breeding season for Choughs on the Cornish coast.
A total of 161 young birds - 32 more than last year - have fledged from 56 successful pairs.
The 2025 figure was a record since numbers have been kept, so this year's tally beats it.
The success marks a remarkable comeback since the species died out in the county in 1973.
The recovery is understood to have been triggered when three adventurous birds from Ireland arrived at Lizard Point in 2001, with two of them becoming the first breeding pair for almost three decades.
The turnaround is testament to a rnge of conservation inititiatives by the likes of the Cornish Chough Conservation Network, Cornwall Birds, the RSPB, the National Trust and Natural England.
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| The view birds have of Manby Flashes as they come into land |
THE deadline has passed for offers on a Lincolnshire wetland which accommodates an unofficial bird reserve.
Interested parties had until noon today to submit offers for the 11.38-hectare Manby Flashes near Louth.
Throughout the year, the site attracts migrating waders and wildfowl which can often be viewed from a four-person hide maintained by Lincolnshire Bird Club.
It is understood that one potential buyer is the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust which is ready to dip into its £20.9-million coffers to make the purchase.
If successful, the Flashes would supplements its network of reserves which includes Gibraltar Point bird observatory, near Skegness further south on the county coast, Far Ings, near Barton-on Humber, and Whisby nature park near Lincoln,
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Migrating Greenshank (above) and Green Sandpiper are among wading birds regularly seen on the wetland |
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| Corncrake and chicks as depicted in John Gould's The Birds of Great Britain (1873) |
COULD summer next year mark the return to Yorkshire of calling Corncrakes? Up until the early 1900s, they were common on and around grassland in much of the county, but, following changes in farming practice and loss of habitat, their numbers plummeted such as there may now be only one two breeding pairs left. However, that could change following the recent release in hay meadows within the Lower Derwent Valley, at Wheldrake in the north of the county, of 148 captive-reared birds which are soon expected to migrate to Central Africa over autumn, then return next spring. Prior to their release, the captive-reared birds were, for 26 days, kept in pens with views of the stars in the night sky which, helped by Earth's magnetic fields, it is hoped might guide their migration journeys. The RSPB and the WWT were involved with a similar project in the Ouse Washes but, for reasons that are not known, decided to pull out. This new Yorkshire project is a joint venture between Natural England, National Nature Reserves and Friends of the Lower Derwent Valley. |
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| What adventures lie ahead? One of the captive-reared birds is released (photo: Natural England) The Wryneck says: Here's hoping that this project is a huge success. But it does prompt a question. The Corncrake is struggling all over Europe, so how were these eggs obtained? It is understood that Hebridean islands might have been the source, but clarity would be welcome. |
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| Whooper swans are among the winter visitors to the reserves |
A PART-TIME warden is being sought by the RSPB for three of its Tayside reserves in Scotland.
They are those at Loch Leven, Loch of Kinnordy and Tay Reedbed.
Says the society: "This is a permanent role for 15 hours per week.
"It offers a varied, practical and rewarding working environment.
"The successful candidate will contribute to habitat management, species monitoring and visitor experience across all three sites, working alongside colleagues and volunteers."
The job description provides more information as follows:
* At Loch Leven, you will be part of a team managing a range of habitats with a focus on wet grassland. The site supports an ever-changing range of wildlife, from breeding waders and wildfowl in spring and summer to flocks of migratory geese and swans in autumn, with Red Squirrels year-round.
* At Loch of Kinnordy, you will help to deliver management in and around the wetland, including the open water, reedbed and fen. This site is rich with wildlife including Ospreys, Otters, Beavers, Red Squirrels and a range of waders and wildfowl.
* At the Tay Reedbeds, you will work within the UK’s largest continuous reedbed, an internationally important habitat along the River Tay. Here, species such as Bearded Tits, Marsh Harriers and Water Rails depend on rotational reedbed management.
The position is based at Loch Leven, and the salary is the pro-rata equivalent of £30,977.00 - £39,359.00 per annum
The closing date for applications is Sunday September 27, with interviews proposed for October 6.
Further information is available from Vicky Turnbull at vicky.turnbull@rspb.org.uk.
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| The reserves are home to many winter-staying wetland visitors |
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| Gliding through a calm paradise - a Barn Owl hunting for rodent prey |
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| Interviewed for the Review section of The Daily Telegraph - owl-lover Vinnie Jones |
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| Too intelligent for its own good - the much-exploited African Grey |
AN autumn publication date has been set for a book which is likely to shine a spotlight on the trade in wild birds and other animals.
Because of its capacity to imitate human speech, the African Grey Parrot is now widely kept in cages and aviaries across the world.
But it has become increasingly scarce in the wild.
In her new work, American author Nancy Jacobs explores how the bird became an "international commodity".
The pre-launch publicity from Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books states: "Few animals have fascinated people like the Grey Parrot, celebrated for its intelligence, mimicry and uncanny ability to 'speak'.
"The Global Grey Parrot traces the remarkable history of this intriguing bird from West and Central African forests to markets and homes around the world.
"For centuries, the species lived as a social being within complex forest communities, sharing landscapes with African people who understood their calls, behaviour and ecological roles.
"That relationship changed dramatically with the expansion of Atlantic trade and European empire.
"As markets expanded, the birds themselves became commodities - captured, transported, and sold across continents as curiosities, pets and research subjects.
"Drawing on documentary research, fieldwork in Africa, and insights from ethology and environmental history, Nancy J. Jacobs reconstructs a five-century story of entanglement between humans and parrots.
"She reveals how colonial extraction, global capitalism and the international pet trade transformed a wild forest animal into an endangered species that now primarily reproduces and exists in captivity.
"The Global Grey Parrot offers a striking new perspective on how human desires reshaped the lives of animals and the world they inhabit."
The title is due to be published in hardback on November 3.
Surely some mistake here? The impact of this photograph in today's edition of the Sunday Telegraph newspaper is, alas, somewhat diluted by the inaccurate species identification in the caption.
